Exciting New Exhibit at Gulf Specimen Marine Lab

GULF SPECIMEN MARINE LABORATORIES
Dear friends of Gulf Specimen, I want to tell you about our new resident at our aquarium. It is the first one that I have ever seen in my years of being a marine collector. It's a white blue crab brought to us by local fishing family the Hutton's who own Hutton's Seafood and More in Medart, Florida. They have been crabbing in this area for over 20 years, and have never seen a blue-crab that looks like this one. They said the moment they caught it they knew they had to bring it to Gulf Specimen so that other people would have a chance to see it.    Blue crabs have always been a big part of Panacea. It is the number one fishery in the town. Many people have made their livelihood going out and catching these crabs every day. They are considered a delicacy in many restaurants from New York to Key West. The blue crab gets his name from the male crab. It has a blue coloration that runs down the top of his claws and legs. Its Latin name is Callinectes sapidus ---that translates into beautiful swimmer. In 1966 a snow white blue crab was brought into Gulf Specimen, a complete albino. This one has black eyes and a bluish tint, but it's pretty close and very unusual. Almost everything in the sea eats blue crabs, including sharks, sea turtles, redfish, and even alligators when the crabs migrate up into the fresh water. Part of the portunid, or swimming crab family, blue crabs are one of a few crabs that are to swim up and down in the water column using their paddles. They are ferocious predators, ready to latch onto an attack any prey item with their sharp pinching claws. The sleek, fast moving little blues grow up in the creeks of the salt marshes, feeding on baby fish, sea worms, and fiddler crabs that leave their burrows and come down to the water's edge. Crabs are smart, they learn from one another. Studies at FSU have shown that when one crab learns to pluck periwinkle snails off the marsh grass and eat them, the crabs that have been ignoring the snails overhead soon do likewise. But blue crabs are also cannibals, so smaller crabs keep their distance from bigger ones, getting into shallowest part of the wetlands. Blue crabs are an important part of our local economy. They move from the marsh to the menu, and area mainstay of seafood restaurants and markets. Linda Hutton's has a trailer, Hutton's Seafood and More where she cooks soft shell crabs that her husband Ray catches. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwToGwePe4s The crab on display at Gulf Specimen was the first albino they've seen. So make your plans for this weekend to come and see the only white blue crab on display at Gulf Specimen Marine Lab. .  Sincerely, Cypress Rudloe Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc. PO Box 237 222 Clark Drive Panacea FL 32346 Phone 850-984-5297 Fax: 850-984-5233 Website    http://gulfspecimen.org Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GulfSpecimenMarineLab Twitter     https://twitter.com/GulfSpecimen1 Google+   https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/108328363887765702317/

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